The night had already settled over Star Harbor.
Streetlights painted the quiet roads in warm amber light while the distant sound of waves echoed softly from the harbor.
At the edge of a quiet residential block a silver sedan rolled slowly into a driveway.
Olivia Pierce stepped out of the car.
She looked exactly like what she had been pretending to be all day.
An exhausted university professor returning home after a long day of lectures.
Her hair slightly messy.
Her shoulder bag hanging loosely at her side.
She stretched her neck once before walking toward the front door.
St. Patrick's University had been unusually busy that day.
Students.
Meetings.
Papers.
At least that was the life she had been pretending to live.
She unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The house was quiet.
She reached toward the wall and flipped the switch.
Lights filled the hallway.
But the moment she turned toward the living room something moved.
A flash of metal cut through the air.
